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The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay

1064 Words5 Pages

Scientific research has undergone a transformation from knowing little about cells to experimenting on the cells and advance in medicine. The fascination to discover the unknown has triggered scientists to unconsciously over-step ethical boundaries. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (2010) elaborates on the legal unethical practices in 1951 in the United States and the standard medical practices during the Jim Crow era. The policies and regulations have structurally created disparities among the African American population leading to skepticism towards the healthcare system. Eventually, the public raises concerns after numerous disclosures of human research cases and regulations were implemented. The Belmont Report …show more content…

“This was the era of Jim Crow-when black people showed up at white-only hospitals, the staff was likely to send them away, even if it meant they might die in the parking lot” (Skloot, 2010, p.15). Henrietta was a colored woman and only Johns Hopkins Hospital would accept her admission and give her treatment. Many colored patients struggle through the same racial disparity and went to Hopkins because they do not have any other choice. Although segregation was legal and enforce during that time period, however, it is inhumane to accept or deny anyone from getting medical treatment base on their color of their skin. It is an unethical act for healthcare professionals to perpetuate the segregation ideology, which has limited the quality and the amount of care that Henrietta should have …show more content…

The term “practice” signifies interventions that can enhance a person’s well-being (USDHHS, 2017). Whereas, the term “research” implies the entire experimental process of testing a hypothesis (USDHHS, 2017). Therefore, practice and research needs to be clearly identified and be kept separated because they represent two different acts. When a patient gives healthcare professionals the permission to “practice”, it is solely for the purpose to improve their health outcomes. By accepting and allowing practice, it does not constitute an agreement be participate in a research. It would be crossing the boundaries to perform a research when the healthcare professionals were expected to improve patient’s well-being. The Belmont Report serves as a summary of the ethical principles and guidelines to protect the public from being

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